Defender Antonio Rudiger confirmed on Monday that he encouraged Real Madrid to beat Liverpool in the Champions League final last month because he was still injured after losing the FA Cup and League Cup finals against Chelsea to their local rivals.
Real Madrid picked up three straight wins against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in the play-offs before reaching the final and beating Liverpool 1-0 in Paris. “I was very happy with Real Madrid’s victory,” Ruediger said at a press conference presented to the media after his move to Real Madrid. I knew I would play here and it was my third final after losing two cup finals to Liverpool.
The 29-year-old centre-back agreed to join the Spanish and European champions on a four-year deal on a free transfer after his contract with Chelsea expired at the end of last season.
“Real Madrid is associated with winning,” Rudiger said. That’s what it means to play at this club and I’m really looking forward to starting my career, what Real Madrid did last season in the Champions League was hard to explain and put into words. It’s incredible. He succeeded, despite all the difficulties and doubts. It’s really amazing. Ruediger, who was in Chelsea’s squad when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid, said that the meeting with the team that could become his club in the future did not cause any problems.
The German defender added: “At the time I wasn’t sure if I would go to Real Madrid but it will be easy anyway because we are professionals and these contractual issues are off the pitch.” He added: “It was a special and exciting second leg and it was my first time playing at the Santiago Bernabéu. Everything was going well for our team, but after we scored the third goal, I was surprised that the atmosphere from the fans remained positive, which is very cool.
Chelsea, who lost 3-1 in the first leg in London, went 3-0 ahead in the second leg but allowed Real Madrid to score twice towards the end of the second half to reach the semi-finals with a 5-4 lead. Rudiger has been a Chelsea regular since joining Roma in 2017, where he won the FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup. Rudiger made 54 appearances in all competitions last season, all as a starter, more than any other Chelsea player.
